Nine Discourses by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Dedicated with Love and Reverence at the Divine Lotus Feet of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba ©2010 Sri Sathya Sai World Foundation “God Is” Om Sai Ram The Five-Letter Mantra Selected Discourses on “God is”, “I am I”, and “Love All Serve All” God is The Five-Letter Mantra. 21 July 1986 page 3 God Is Pure Bliss. 23 May 2000 page 8 I am I I Am I, I Am Atma. 25 December 2009 page 19 Who Are You? I Am I. 20 October 2004 page 23 Recognise The Fundamental Principle of Oneness. 21 March 2004 page 28 Who Am I? 30 March 1987 page 32 Love All Serve All Prema And The Triple Purity. 14 January 1995 page 37 Service To Man Is Service To God. 1 January 2004 page 44 Quenching The Thirst. 6 March 1977 page 50 2 “God Is” Om Sai Ram The Five-Letter Mantra God Is The Five-Letter Mantra Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 19, Chapter 14 Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Prasanthi Nilayam, 21 July 1986 Man is the only being endowed with the unique weapon of the mind. Whoever is able to master it will be victorious in life. A slave of the mind cannot achieve happiness or peace. The body with all the sense organs, made up of the five elements, is the dwelling that the mind has established for its fulfilment. It is like an armour. The mind is the basis for the body. It is the cause of all worldly activities and experiences. A body without the mind is like a school without a teacher, a crop withering for lack of water, a temple without a deity, an electric wire without the current—utterly useless and lifeless. Men are generally prone to regard the mind as intimately bound to the body. Believing that the body, a composite of the five elements, is real and permanent, they devote all their time and actions to its well being. Life is wasted in pursuing mundane objects. The highest realisation consists in using the intelligence (buddhi) to acquire higher wisdom (vijnana) and conquering the mind through that wisdom. The Upanishad declares: Prajnaanam Brahma (Realisation of Brah- man is the highest wisdom). This consummation is attained only through good thoughts. Good thoughts the most precious possession. They are charged with immense power, puri- ty, and divinity. They are life-giving and life-sustaining. They will yield the desired fruits ac- cording the way they are used. Transformation of sinners to saints The mind, it should be noted, is not like a blank paper. It is a palimpsest that carries on it the imprint of the experiences and actions of many past lives. It manifests as a reflection of the Atma (spirit). The Atma + the Mind = Man. Man – Mind = Atma. The mind is the cause of bon- dage or liberation. If one can fill himself with good thoughts in any situation, one’s life will become sanctified. Hence, it is necessary for everyone to try to cultivate good thoughts and make them govern the life and actions. The prime requisite for the cultivation of good thoughts is association with good people (sath- sang). The scriptures have expatiated on the value of good company with appropriate examples. The highway robber Ratnakara supported his family by attacking wayfarers and robbing them of their possessions. He was so completely transformed by association with the seven great sages (Saptarishis-Vasishta and others) that he later became Valmiki, the great Adi Kavi, who wrote the epic Ramayana. Not only was he the first among poets, he achieved the same status as the sage Vyasa. The seven sages hailed Valmiki as the giver of the verse (Sloka daata), com- ing after the giver of all things (Lok-daata Bhagavan). Another example. During Buddha’s time, there was a very cruel and wicked man known as Angulimala. Like Ratnakara, he was engaged in waylaying travelers, robbing them of their 3 “God Is” Om Sai Ram The Five-Letter Mantra wealth, and cutting off their thumbs to use them as a necklace round his neck. The Buddha was able to reform even such a cruel man and turn him into a spiritual seeker. Power of faith Gauranga belonged to a community called Jagayi-Madhayi, who were noted for their wicked ways and cruelty. Through his association with holy men, he became a great devotee of the Lord and acquired the appellation Chaitanya (since he was always immersed in Krishna Con- sciousness). He devoted his entire life to glorifying God in song and dance. Thus, through all ages, there have been men who have been transformed into saints and sages by associating with good and holy men. Coming to more recent times, we have many good examples. In Tamilnadu, some decades ago, there was a young lad, belonging to a poor Brah- min family. At that time Gandhiji was emerging as the leader of the national struggle for freedom. Everyone was talking about the lawyer who was voicing the country’s aspirations and demonstrating its determination to win freedom from foreign rule. The Brahmin boy’s motber was keen that her son should become a lawyer like Gandhiji. She told him: “My dear son! You should study like Gandhi and try to relieve the sufferings of the poor. You must become a great hero like him. You must adhere to dharma and fight for justice.” From that day, the young lad devoted himself to his studies, remembering his mother’s ad- vice. He resolved to become a lawyer and serve the poor and distressed. He overcame innu- merable difficulties and handicaps. Since he could not afford lamps at home, he used to study under street lamps and prepare for his examinations. Often he had to go without food. Once, on the eve of an examination, he was studying under a street lamp when he felt drowsy. Since he could not afford a cup of tea—though it cost very little those days—he washed his face with cold water from a tap and continued his study. He passed the law examination with distinction. He always kept in mind his resolve to live up to his mother’s words. He worked with sev- eral seniors at the Bar, picked up practice, and progressed as a lawyer. He had a deep faith in God. Whatever difficulties he encountered, he regarded them as intended by Providence for his own good. Because of his faith in God and association with good men, a great change oc- curred in his career. He was appointed Judge of the Madras High Court—the first Indian to be chosen for that honour. It was a fitting recognition for his character and abilities. Such was the career of T.Muthuswamy Iyer. When devotion to God is coupled with good resolutions, anything can be accomplished. As in the case of Muthuswamy Iyer, there are instances of young men in other countries who started their careers to earn a living by polishing shoes or selling newspapers or washing dishes in hotels but who rose to high positions because of their good resolutions and their unswerving faith in God. Some of them became great scholars and led dedicated lives. Man has unlimited potentialities In Britain, there was a poor lad who used to make a living by writing addresses on covers for illiterate persons and to give tuitions to children. Each time he wrote an address, he used to say. “May God bless you.” He used to tell the young children before they went back to their homes after their lessons, “May God shower His grace on you.” He had firm faith that some day God would raise him to a position where he would be able to render service to the people. He always told his young students, “Have faith in God.” He himself had firm faith in God. 4 “God Is” Om Sai Ram The Five-Letter Mantra In course of time, he became the Prime Minister of Britain. He was James Ramsay MacDo- nald. From a poor address writer to the Prime Minister of Great Britain—what a change in for- tune wrought by the grace of God! The union of good resolutions with faith in God is like bringing together the positive and negative ends of electric wires; through this combination, any great thing can be accomplished. We do not realise the unlimited potentialities of man. Not only in respect of his physical form but also in regard to his intelligence, man is far above all other beings on earth. He can achieve whatever he wills to do. He can even become the master of the world. But, superficially, man appears as weakling. The life of man is subject to certain limitations. However intelli- gent one may be, one should not forget that life is governed by these limitations. One should use the intelligence one is endowed with, within the limits inherent in the human condition, to lead an exemplary, ideal life. If the intelligence is not properly used life becomes futile. Talents are misused for selfish purposes Owing to absence of right thinking and right attitudes, the powers of the intellect are being misused now. Talents are being employed for selfish purposes. Though man has prodigious intel- lectual ability, it is being used for wrong purposes. Self-interest and self-centredness are distort- ing men’s outlook and leading them astray from the righteous path. Truth and integrity are at a discount. Moral standards are-declining. Caste and creedal differences are mushrooming.